Kenyans lured to Russia's frontline

0:00Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service.

0:20This is The Fifth Floor, at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world. I'm your host, Farnak Amidi.

0:35Kenyan authorities say that there are 200 Kenyans who are currently fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine. Some have been rescued and others captured by Ukrainian forces, and many of them claim that they were lured into fighting in the war by the promise of jobs, only to find out on arrival that they were actually going to be sent to the front lines. David Wafula of BBC Africa has been speaking to the mother of a man, also called David, who found himself caught up in Russia's war. I asked him when he first heard about this story. It was quite an interesting story when you just go onto social media and you're looking for stories.

1:15We bumped into a post from David's mother asking the whereabouts of the son and trying to ask help. There were already emerging reports of Kenyans being recruited to fight in Ukraine, But there was very little detail about how they were getting there. So her account stood out because it began as a very familiar Kenyan story, you know, a young man living home for work abroad. But before that, slowly revealing something far more serious. And what did she reveal about how her son, David, found himself on the front line? According to the mother, David was recruited after being promised a job in Russia as a civilian worker.

1:53and on David's case, he was supposed to go as a security guard. So the mother was very excited. You found work abroad. He had just come back from Somalia as a truck driver. So the mother was very excited that, you know, this is another job abroad and I'm really excited for you. The agency had promised him about roughly$2 ,000 a month once they arrived there. Yeah, and it looked very attractive. Remember, this is a family that is not so well off. They live in an informal settlement, one of the biggest informal settlements in Nairobi. And also the mother is a single mother of three. So they were very excited that this is an opportunity to elevate them from poverty.

2:30So at first the communication was a bit slow, and then they ended up communicating on a daily basis. David was so excited that I'm going to buy my mother house. When I looked through the WhatsApp text exchanges with the son, he used to send his mother pictures of houses, which can I build for you, what can I buy for you when I come back. So it was all excited until when David signed a contract that was in Russia. He couldn't understand Russia. The next thing they were sent for training, which only takes one week, military training in full combat. Because if you look at the picture, they're in full combat in a forest training with other Russian soldiers.

3:07So things went so quickly. So by the time they finished the one week training and they were deployed to the battlefront, that's when communication started becoming limited. and the mother was becoming a bit concerned. I'm not hearing from my son. And the communication thus disappeared that really got David's mom very worried. What happened to David at the end? According to the mom, it's believed that he died in the battlefront. There's another friend of David. They used to fight together in Ukraine. The mother reached out and asked, have you talked to my son? No, I'm just trying to find out if he's okay.

3:43And the friend said that I'm not near your son, but I can give you an agent number. He's a Russian guy that can give you information about David. The first time the mother reached out to the agent, he was speaking in Russian. And then when he realized that David's mother doesn't understand Russian, that's when he started speaking in English. And they exchanged a lot of voice notes. I could listen to them. And the first question the mother asked is, where is David? And then the agent said, I'm sorry. I don't think everything is okay. I don't think David is alive. So the mother kept on insisting to the agent in Russia that can I even have a picture of the grave where my son is.

4:21And the agent was like, it's very far away from where I am. But at the moment, I believe he's not coming home. The last communication that David sent to the mom was a voice note. And the voice note was quite touching. David said that this might be the last time I'm speaking to you. I'm going to the battlefront. And if I don't come back, I've sent you some documents. So I could see that contract in Russia that included the amount of money and compensation that would be paid. So the son said, when you don't hear from me, please go to the embassy and give them this information for you to get compensation.

4:54And after that, it's been a lot of worry. And what about the money he was promised? So what happened is when David went there, he was able to send money during the first months or weeks home. but apparently according to another account of another Kenyan who we spoke to who came back home after getting injured is that they were being paid in the Russian accounts which you cannot access or send money home. So most of these fighters the money is stuck in a Russian account that you cannot access. And David most of them are people who go there for job opportunities and not to be recruited for war? The stories we've heard is that they have no idea that they're going to join the military.

5:36So what happened is you are enticed with a job. You're like, okay, the drivers are needed. We have cooks that are needed. We have security guards that are needed. So once you arrive there, for example, another Kenyan who we spoke to, he was a sportsman, a basketball player. He said they took him even to a school. They played a bit of basketball. He was so sure that he's recruited. And then he signed a contract without understanding the language because he's in Russian. The next thing they were bundled into a van, taken to a forest, and they're being trained on how to shoot down drones and how to handle guns, the next thing on the battlefield.

6:06So the stories are similar and most of them, you know, they're coming from a very humble background. They're just trying to make ends meet. And do you know how many Kenyans are in this situation at the moment in Russia? Information has been scanty, but at the moment the government came out and said that they're estimating around 200 Kenyans that are fighting in Russia and it's just a couple of weeks ago. They managed to repatriate 18 of them, and all of them were injured. So what is happening is they're picking them up in hospitals. If you are injured, it's the only pass that can make you go back home.

6:42The government, they're doing investigation. There are agencies, about five of them in Kenya that are being investigated on luring Kenyans to go fight in Russia. But they are advertising jobs that are not war-related or military-related. It can be as a cook, it can be as a driver, as a security guard. By the time you get there, you end up signing a contract. And not just Kenyans. We have citizens from India, citizens from Morocco and other countries in Africa. They all meet there. And the jobs they do mostly is shooting down drones and collecting dead bodies to clear a way for the troops to go and fight.

7:19So most of them, they've come back very traumatic. No training, no psychosocial support. And then when they came back, the government hasn't even given them the help that they needed after all that. So it's quite traumatic for these young men. David, when these young men go to Russia and they are finally told, OK, you are going to war, you are going to the front line, why don't they just say no? From the stories I've heard, it's like you don't have an option. First, you don't understand the language. You don't understand the people. And then you are being trained for a week. And then the next thing, you go to the battle.

7:56You don't know how to come back home. Remember, they've confiscated your identity. They've given you a new identity. They've even given them Russian names on the military ID and on the contacts also the Russian name. They've given them new identity as well. All of them that we've spoken to, they didn't have access to communication gadgets like phones and all that. For example, the one that came back, he had to talk to someone in a hospital to call home so that home realized that, yes, he's alive. Let's see what he can do. And then at the same time, they've given you this lucrative deal contract that has good money that you say, like David said, I'm doing this for my family.

8:35Whether I don't come back, you'll be set for future or for life. So for them, it's hard to turn back once you get there and you are in the battlefield. I remember it happens. It happens so fast. And David, do you know of any Kenyans who knowingly go to participate in the war, maybe as mercenaries? From what we've gathered and the investigation we've done for months, we haven't encountered anyone who willingly went to fight as a mercenary. Most of them, they're being lured by rogue agencies. They have no idea what they're going to do until they arrive and then they realize, oh, it's this serious.

9:12This is bad. And what about now that the word is out? Are people more aware that these job advertisements by Russian agents could get them end up in the front line? Yeah, the media has played a big role. Most of those stories we did were the first people to break the stories and they travel very fast. And also the government has come out officially, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that, you know, warning Kenyans, please don't take up jobs that you're not so sure where you're going. and they are warning Kenyans to go to Russia for any kind of job because you don't know where you will end up.

9:45The parliament also has come up strongly. They are putting together law, how to repatriate those that have gone. They are trying to use the diplomatic way to try and negotiate on how the Kenyans that are there to come back. Because at the moment, according to what we've collected and while we're reporting on this story, is that there are so many of them stuck in hospitals, sick and injured. There are so many of them whose bodies are in mugs and no one has no idea. So the government is in the process of trying to talk to Russia diplomatically and see how best they can solve the issue and to have any Kenyan who is there to come back.

10:20And this is serious because so many parents have formed groups and they are reporting their sons missing. And they have taken their complaints to the government. So the government is trying to follow up, but it's a bit slow on how it's reacting. And as the war goes on, most of them who are there are stuck. But at the moment, I don't think so many are going, even none, because I think the awareness is there and everyone knows what is happening from the stories that have been heard on social media and in the mainstream media as well. Thank you, David. That was David Wafula of BBC Africa.

11:01Throughout September 2025, protests were seen all over Indonesia. People were frustrated with the cost of living and felt outrage at what many viewed as excessive pay and housing allowances for parliamentarians. But there was one island in Indonesia, Bali, which remained free from these passionate protests. And it made Tri Wayuni of BBC Indonesia want to explore why Balinese people decided not to join the national protests. Don't be weird in Bali. Bali is calm and Bali works, said someone on social media. Native Balinese people don't like demo was another comment in a demo video uploaded on TikTok social media.

11:48Demonstrations, especially those that end in chaos, are considered to disrupt stability and possibly threaten the big source of income in Bali, tourism. Tree wanted to look into how tourism in Bali and the behavior of the Balinese people fit together and what the history behind it was. Iwayan Suyadna, a sociology lecturer at Brawijaya University, explained that the attitude of Balinese people is to avoid commotion. They avoid long debates in order to keep people's life harmonious. Wayan said that Balinese people are very good at keeping all kinds of problems to themselves. He explained that the Chilean Explanation is a legacy of terror from the 1965 communist purge.

12:39It was the peak of the Cold War and after a communist coup failed, at least 500 ,000 people were killed across Indonesia.

13:00of the president's palace guard. It asked people to keep calm and said order was being restored in Jakarta. For the time being, it said, General Suharto, an important political figure, would assume command of the army. This was explained by a later report that the previous army commander, General Ahmad Yani, had been shot dead during the few hours... The so-called New Order regime systematically eliminated those deemed leftists and anyone who challenged the state. The massacre left a huge mark on Balinese people. The 1965 tragedy is estimated to have killed 80 ,000 to 100 ,000 people on a small and densely populated island, leaving deep trauma for survivors, victims' families, and the wider community.

13:57This brutal period taught them brutal lessons. Descent leads to annihilation. This was passed down through generations and created a cultural norm of conformity and a deep-seated fear of state authority. Nowadays, many Berlinese people have become conditioned to avoid confrontation and suppress negative opinions, especially concerning large-scale projects like those in the tourism sector. Overtourism has become a problem in many parts of the world, and Bali is one of the worst affected places in Indonesia. Our next story takes us to the Indonesian island of Bali, a place which was once seen as a backpacker's paradise for 60s hippies has more recently been described as benedorm for Australians.

14:51Balinese people are captive to tourism, but they cannot express themselves because there is a strong social convention to stay quiet, said Wayan. In 2019, he conducted research on the impact of tourism development in several areas in Bali. He photographed the condition of residents who are squeezed between the development of tourism and the difficulty of meeting the needs of life. One of the areas studied is Canggu. Some foreign media recommend Canggu as a must-visit place in Bali to relax, as the very popular places like Seminyak and Kuta were now considered too crowded. As a result, the number of tourists going to Canggu continues to increase, dominated by digital nomads, people who use digital technology to work from anywhere and are often able to stay in for months at a time.

15:52We were able to wake up in the morning, do a couple of hours' work, then go dive in and swim with whale sharks, then go back and do a couple of hours' work, and then go and have a smoothie on a beach in Bali. To accommodate the growing number of tourists, new villas were built on vacant land and rice fields. Wayan wanted to interview the residents. However, he faced rejection after rejection and started to feel hopeless about getting to know how the locals actually felt. Apparently, for residents, Wayans' presence and asking these questions has the potential to damage tourism. They say anyone who damages tourism doesn't deserve to be accepted.

16:38Hearing the real opinions of Balinese people is difficult, even for BBC Indonesian. Both on the streets and online, they are reluctant to express grievances about the tourism industry. They wanted to convey their complaints, but reviews when we asked them be quoted in our reports. A man we called Gede is the first Balinese person who was willing to talk about the dark side of tourism development, but he would only speak on the condition that his name is anonymized as he works in the tourism industry. On the one hand, Gede did acknowledge the benefits of tourism in Bali. But he said that the presence of tourists also affect his life in many negative ways.

17:27Gede works in Denpasar in south of Bali. Previously, he hoped to have a house close to his workplace. But in reality, the price of houses in Denpasar are no longer affordable for him. At first, Gede lowered the standards of his dream house, trying to be more realistic. He widened his search to a location that could be reached within 30 minutes to his office. However, the result remained nil. Even though his salary is almost six times the minimum wage of Bali, the day is still unable to buy property, even in installment. The hope of having a house in his own homeland are now completely crushed.

18:13But the focus on tourism in Bali, and more widely in Indonesia, might go back even further to when it was colonized by the Dutch. In the 1900s, the Dutch government used tourism to make the world forget the atrocities they had committed in conquering Bali. They marketed Bali as a beautiful, exotic, and cultured place. Some say that Bali has become a living museum, which must be maintained in its authenticity so that it can be consumed for the sake of tourism. All parts of society focuses only on tourism, including even education. Balinese academic Ngurah Suryawan said that when children in Bali graduate from school, they are prepared to fill the tourism industries.

19:08So a kind of condition has been created to exert all the potential that exists in Bali for the benefit of tourism. But if you look carefully, small changes are happening. It can be seen when a major flood hit Bali in mid-September. Although some residents saw the flood as a natural disaster that could have been predicted, others have begun to criticize government policies. They see this as not only a natural disaster, but also government negligence, policy errors, and the government's capacity to handle this problem. So, there is hope that a better Bali will one day be realized for the people who live there.

19:57Thank you, Tri Wajuni of BBC Indonesian. You're listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service. This is The Fifth Floor, and I'm Farina Khamidi. Pana is a diamond mining region in central India. But despite its mineral wealth, it remains a deprived area, with few economic opportunities for people who live there. Recently, though, two lifelong friends found a diamond worth a life-changing amount of money. Vishnukhand Tiwari reports for the BBC in Central India, and he covered this story. Hi, Vishnukhand. Welcome to the fifth floor. It's great to have you. Hello. Yeah, thanks. Thanks. And same year, great to be here.

20:42So can you start by telling me about the area in which these friends live? What is it like? What do we know about it? Okay, this Panna district lies in the Central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. And in terms of socioeconomic conditions, it is among India's least developed districts. Its residents face poverty, water scarcity and employment. And they have been facing this for decades now. And most of the population is either involved in migratory labor or they go and they try their luck in the diamond mining sector. And these two friends, tell us about them. Who are they? What is their profession?

21:23So these two friends, one of them is named Satish Khati and another is named Sajid Muhammad. They both are residents of Panna and their homes are barely 200 meters apart. So they live in the same locality and they studied together as well. And Sajid works with his father in a small fruit shop and Satish works in meat collection and selling of meat. Both these friends, since they studied together and since they live very close to each other, they are very familiar with each other's home, families, economic conditions, and they know about each other. So one fine day, because they both have sisters, they decided to try their luck in diamond mining.

22:09because, as I said, the region lacks good employment opportunities. And for one to earn decent livelihood, either one has to move out of that area, money outside that region, and then come back. So they decided to play the gambit, which their forefathers have also played, and dig for diamonds. So you said because they have sisters, is what role do the sisters play in these men going and looking for diamonds? Okay, I mean, in these parts of central India, if anybody has a sister and the sister is of the marriage age, it comes as a familial responsibility on the male side of the family to arrange for the sister's marriage, arrange for all the expenses, find a good groom.

22:56So since both of them have two sisters at their homes they when we talked to them they both they both told us that they have been feeling the pressure of ranging money for the sisters to get married because in india marriage is like a big celebration a lot of invites to send out a lot of relatives you know your villagers and yeah and everybody has you have to invite everyone you have to bear all those expenses it was there in their minds and as per our conversation they said that this was the core reason why they decided to dig for diamonds. So there's a diamond mine in that area, obviously, but how do locals go about looking for diamonds?

23:38What is the system? In that region, there is one diamond mine which is federally owned and federally operated. But any resident of India can go and look for diamonds after they have taken a lease of eight by eight meters of land, which would cost them around rupees 250 in Indian rupees. and once they pay this money, they are allocated an 8 by 8 meter of land and in that land they can dig and they can look for diamonds. So you rent a plot and you start looking for diamonds until you find it. Okay, interesting system. So how long were these two friends looking for diamonds until they found it? This is a very interesting part.

24:19I'll tell you both Satish and Sajid Muhammad's fathers and then their grandfathers and probably their great-grandfathers would have also been, they also took up this diamond mining. But as they told us that their fathers and their grandfathers were not so lucky. They spent like half of their lives digging up, looking up for diamonds, but they were not lucky enough. But these two friends, they were able to get a very good quality, a very good size of diamond on 19th day of their adventure. Wow. So as they said, because in Panna, what happens is like almost every other household is involved in diamond mining, looking up for diamonds.

25:01But it is not very often that everybody is lucky enough to get their hands on such good quality and such big piece of diamond. So when they valued the diamond, how much was it worth approximately? So the diamond would roughly be worth around$55 ,000 as of now. It weighed around 15.34 carat. It comes in one of the finest varieties of natural diamonds that exist. Both of them told us that whatever amount they will have after they've got their sister's married, they will invest some of it in their ancestral or in their parental businesses like the fruit shop and the meat shop. And they also said that they would spend some more amount to lease out a few more plots of diamonds and probably get some labors.

25:49and mine the diamond in a big scale. Thank you, Vishnukant Tawari, who reports for the BBC in central India. And if you want to let us know what you think about the show or you have questions for our amazing correspondents, send an email to the5thfloor at bbc.co.uk. That's the5thfloor, all one word, at bbc.co.uk. That's all from me, Farunika Amiti, and the rest of the 5th Floor team. Thanks for listening.

26:24You've been listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service.